Biography for
Hugh Downs More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

14 February 1921, Akron, Ohio, USA

Birth Name

Hugh Malcolm Downs

Spouse

Ruth Shaheen

(17 February 1944 - present) 2 children

Trivia

Got his start in network TV in 1949 when he won the job as announcer on the children's show "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" (1947).

A descendant of Davy Crockett, 19th century frontiersman and later congressman from Tennessee.

He has a post-Masters degree in gerontology from Hunter College.

The Guinness Book of World Records holder for greatest number of hours on network commercial television (1985).

He is color blind.

He is Chairman of the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, Chairman of the Board of US Committee for UNICEF, Trustee of the Menninger Foundation, and served as a member of the NASA Advisory Council.

Is the 1982 recipient of the prestigious Connor Award given by the brothers of the Phi Alpha Tau fraternity based out of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. He is also an honorary brother of the fraternity.

Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, vol. 135, pages 117-120. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.

The auditorium at his high school alma mater, Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio, is named in his honor.